part 14: Laodicea: The Lukewarm Church
Puzzled About Revelation, June 17 2021
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write...”
Introduction
So far, we have looked at: (1) Ephesus: The Loveless Church (2:1-7), (2) Smyrna: The Persecuted Church (2:8-11), (3) Pergamum: The Compromising Church (2:12-17), (4) Thyatira: The Corrupt Church (Rev. 2:18-29), (5) Sardis: The Dead Church (3:1-6), and (6) Philadelphia: The Faithful Church (Rev. 3:7-13).
This week, we will study the final church: Laodicea: The Lukewarm Church (Rev. 3:14-22)
5-fold pattern: Christ, Commendation, Criticism, Instruction, Promise
Call to hear: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22).
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
I. LAODICEA: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
Location: 70 KM SE of Philadelphia in Lycus River valley, alongside neighbouring cities HIERAPOLIS & COLOSSAE.
o Colossae: COLD mountain water (refreshing)
o Hierapolis: HOT SPRINGS (healing & medicinal)
o Laodicea had a MAJOR DISADVANTAGE: NO WATER SUPPLY! Water was brought in through pipes from distant source. Became TEPID in the hot sun; also full of minerals = horrible taste!
Economy: booming economy and trade routes (location chosen for this reason).
o BANKING: They minted their own coins—a rare luxury!
o BLACK WOOL: luxurious “waterproof” clothing & textile industry.
o EYE SALVE: The local medical school was sought out for healing eye problems using a special salve made from “Phrygian powder”.
o Large, wealthy Jewish population
History:
o When a devastating EARTHQUAKE struck the valley in 17 AD, the city TURNED DOWN ASSISTANCE from Rome (“Thanks, but no thanks. We don’t need anything. We can rebuild ourselves!”)
Religion:
o Church of Laodicea:Planted by Epaphras? (See Col. 4:13)
o Mentioned by Apostle Paul in letter to Colossians (See Col. 2:1-3; 4:15-16)
o Possible theological issues surrounding the deity of Christ (See Col. 1-4)
II. LAODICEA: THE LUKEWARMCHURCH (Rev. 3:14-22)
3:14a: To the angel of the church in Laodicea write…
John was instructed by Jesus to write to the angel (messenger, pastor) of the CHURCH. In those days, churches were city-wide assemblies; there were NO DENOMINATIONS.
Christ
3:14b: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.
The Amen: Jesus is the “Amen” of God, His final Word to man and the assurance of God’s promises to us (See 2 Cor. 1:18-20; Heb. 1:1-3).
The Faithful & True Witness: Jesus is faithful to His people, and He only speaks the truth—He cannot lie!
The Ruler of God’s Creation: “Ruler” (arche, Gk.) = Beginning, Origin (source)
o Col. 1:15,18 –“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together… 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.”
o NOT “beginning” in the sense that Christ is a created being and had a beginning; better translated as the “origin or source” from which all things were created. The apostle Paul wrote to the neighbouring city of Colossae to correct a spreading heresy that Jesus was a created Being and less than fully Divine and eternally God (See the Epistle to the Colossians).
COMMENDATION
None!
Criticism
3:15-16:15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (CRITICISM #1)
Hot water (i.e. hot springs) was useful for its medicinal properties, and cold water was refreshing to the taste; lukewarm water is both DISTASTEFUL for consumption and USELESS for healing purposes. The church should be refreshing water for those who thirst for Christ, and healing water for those who need Christ. We are to be hot AND cold.
This church left such a bad taste in Jesus’ mouth that He wanted to wretch and spit them out! They had become useless for any good purpose!
3:17:17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. (CRITICISM #2)
You say…
o Like the culture around them, this church had become SELF-SUFFICIENT, SELF-INDULGENT, and SELF-SATISFIED. They no longer needed to depend on anyone for anything…including Jesus!
…but you do not realize…
o This church was SELF-DECEIVED about its spiritual condition: it thought it was doing just fine and needed nothing, but how different Jesus’ evaluation was!
o Our PERCEPTION of things can be vastly different from REALITY!
o This church thought that material wealth and lack of persecution meant they were blessed by God when, in reality, they were unfaithful to Jesus by loving the things of this world more (See James 4:4-10; 1 John 2:15-17)!
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
o In contrast, the churches in Smyrna and Philadelphia were material poor and experiencing great persecution and martyrdom, yet they were COMMENDED by Jesus as FAITHFUL to His Word (See Rev. 2:9-10; 3:8-10)!
Q: Could it be that our PERCEPTION of ourselves is far different from REALITY? What would Jesus say to us today? Could it be that the majority of the church in the affluent West is, in fact, in danger of being cursed by Jesus because we have falsely assumed that relative peace and material wealth is evidence of God’s blessing on the church?
Correction
3:18-19:18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Gold refined in the fire: This speaks of a faith that is tested in the fire of trials and tribulations (See 1 Peter 1:6-7).
White clothes to cover nakedness: We are to put off wickedness and self-righteousness and be clothed in the righteousness of Christ (See Isa. 64:6; Col. 3:1-17).
Salve to see: They had become blind to their own spiritual condition and needed to see the truth (See 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 4:17-24).
3:19-20:19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.(INSTRUCTION)
Jesus LOVED this church despite its serious flaws, and the evidence of His love was His rebuke and discipline (See Heb. 12:5-13).
They needed to be serious (“earnest”) about REPENTANCE.
Promise #1: Restored Intimacy: If they were earnest about repentance, Jesus would restore intimate fellowship with that person, symbolized by table fellowship.
Promises
3:21: To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.
Promise #2: Authority to Rule: The greatest promise was given to the greatest spiritual failures—the right to sit on Jesus’ throne with Him in the kingdom! Just as Jesus had been victorious, they, too, could be victorious!
3:22: Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
